Corrected Column: Mike Nadel: Time for Benson to show his stuff

CORRECTION: Change in paragraph: During training camp ... to end with Benson outgaining Jones over the final third of the season.

And combines two grafs: Everybody needs a little love ... with the graf after it that begins: And it's really hard ...

Mike Nadel

OK, Cedric Benson, show us.

Show us you are a $30 million tailback. Show us you can stay healthy. Show us you can catch passes and block. Show us you're not a fumbler. Show us the Bears did the right thing in trading Thomas Jones - who had rushed for 2,500-plus yards over the past two years - and handing the job to you.

"Actually," Benson said, "I don't think I have anything to prove."

When I disagreed, telling him I thought he needed to show he could carry the load for an entire NFL season, he said: "I can. I mean, I've been in this position before - in college, in high school. It's nothing new. It's fun. It's good. It's about time."

On his last sentence, we most definitely agree.

It's about time the Bears made more than just a monetary commitment to their 2005 first-round draft pick. And it's about time Cedric Benson shows the football-watching world that he's the stud he's supposed to be.

Truth is, Benson already has shown us a lot.

He has shown he could refute the perception that he'd be too much like his former idol, Ricky Williams, who willingly let his career end in a cloud of marijuana smoke. Pot-possession charges against Benson when he was in college were dropped due to lack of evidence and he since has avoided any legal issues. (To distance himself even further from Williams, Benson even cut off his dreadlocks. He has grown them back this year.)

Benson has shown he can flatten opponents who underestimate the 5-foot-11, 220-pounder's strength. And while he is no Olympic sprinter, he has shown a nice burst of speed. Going up against Minnesota's top-ranked run defense last season, Benson averaged 6.7 yards on nine carries (compared to Jones' 2.7 on 12) and capped his day with a 24-yard touchdown run.

"Ced runs hard and he punishes defensive backs," Bears running backs coach Tim Spencer said. "At the same time, he has that rare ability to get to top speed very quickly."

Benson also has shown he could outlast Jones, a popular, vocal leader in the locker room.

During training camp last year, after coach Lovie Smith had named Cedric the starter, teammates went out of their way to pummel the brash Benson. While he recovered from particularly hard hits delivered by Brian Urlacher and Mike Brown, Jones reclaimed the starting job. Nevertheless, Benson got better as the year progressed and outgained Jones over the final third of the regular season.

Spencer, an outstanding runner at Ohio State who was switched to fullback in the pros, has had to convince Benson that the rest of the team is behind him.

"Everybody needs a little love," Spencer said. "He's always been The Guy. He came from Texas, where he was The Guy. And it's really hard for us running backs because we always think we're The Guy. When you feel you're the better player, it's a struggle to play behind somebody.

"As good as Thomas was for us, it was tough on Ced because he felt he had to prove himself in only two or three carries to get more playing time in a game. I think you'll see Ced a lot more relaxed now that he's The Guy, and that will translate to more production."

This isn't college or high school. Can Benson be The Guy for an NFL team? Again, he has to show us.

It's hard to blame Smith for trusting Jones, who played consistently well in all phases of the offense. When Lovie gave Benson more carries, durability became an issue. Almost indestructible at Texas, Benson has "tweaked" this and "nicked" that during his two pro seasons.

In the Super Bowl, when the Bears really needed him to plow through the Miami mud against a supposedly soft Indianapolis defense, he carried twice, lost a fumble and departed with a sore knee.

So, yes, Benson does have to show us he can take the pounding.

"Adversity’s fun," he said. "People who want to bet against you or say you can’t do or won’t do something ... it’s what drives me. So I’m looking forward to all the adversity, all the, 'He probably won’t be good,' whatever. I can’t wait."

Neither can I. Though I'm no fan of the Bears or any other team, I am a fan of outstanding performances by superb athletes. As Benson said, it's about time.

When I asked him to describe himself with one word, he offered: "Beast."